15.11.2006

Gravelines Beat Siauliai In OT

BCM Gravelines needed overtime but finally saw off hosts BC Siauliai on Wednesday for their second win in as many EuroCup games.

After last week's triumph over Maccabi Rishon Le Zion, the French side arrived in Lithuania and fell behind by nine points in the first quarter but hit back and prevailed after the extra period, 106-101.

Siauliai, having fallen to Spanish juggernauts Akasvayu Girona in their opener, are now 0-2 and they will be kicking themselves after this setback.

"We lost the game because of lack of good defense," said head coach  Aloyzas Rudys.

All was going according to plan in the first quarter, with the hosts gradually building a lead that peaked at 32-23 when Marius Prekevicius made a jump 15 seconds from the end of the frame.

Frederic Sarre's words must have been strong in the huddle for Gravelines because they started the second quarter with a 9-0 run in less than two minutes to tie the contest at 32-32.

For the next eight minutes, not much separated the two, and the first half ended with the game knotted at 54-54 after Darius Pakamanis nailed a three-ball with 12 seconds to go in the quarter.

		Graveline's Steeve Essart

Steeve Essart fed Rahshon Turner with a pass and he sank a jump shot early in the second half as Gravelines went ahead at 61-56, but that five-point lead was short-lived.

Siauliai responded by reeling off eight consecutive points for a 64-61 lead with six minutes remaining in the quarter.

Neither team was able to put any distance between themselves and the opponents, and another Pakamanis three-pointer with 21 seconds to play left the home team in front 74-73.

The fourth quarter did begin to look as if it might go the French team's way.

Sarre's team went in front by as many as five, but Siauliai refused to let them pull away and ultimately took an 88-87 lead after a pair of Pakamanis free throws.

When Andrius Mazutis fouled Rickey Paulding Jr with 15 seconds remaining, the American had a chance to put Gravelines back in front and possibly give them the win but he missed the first free throw before making the second.

The game was level, and went to overtime.

Turner scored immediately to put Gravelines into the lead, and after Tadas Klimavicius missed with a look from three-point range, Paulding Jr pulled up from behind the arc and made the shot for a 93-88 lead.

Arvydas Cepulis replied with a three for the hosts, but David Gautier got in on the long-range shooting act for Gravelines to restore the five-point lead.

Siauliai got no closer than three points the rest of the way.

It was a Lithuanian, Dainius Adomaitis, who led the visitors in scoring with 23 points while Paulding Jr finished with 19.

The hosts' Pakamanis finished with 25 points in defeat.

Missed free throws can kill a team and that was certainly the case for the Lithuanians, who converted just 14 of 25 (56%).

Gravelines also out-rebounded them 37-27.